Chapter 33

Jessie was dragging her laptop from the backseat of her car when Sam appeared behind her. His sudden appearance startled her so much, she dropped her laptop, but his reflexes were quick enough to catch it before it fell.

"Thank you, Sam," she said as he handed the laptop to her. "I don't know what I would've done if it had broken."

He narrowed his eyes slightly looking suspicious.

"Are you gonna try and change the subject?"

She looked at him with surprise. "I didn't know we'd begun to discuss anything."

"Come on, Jessie. You must know why I followed you out here."

She held her laptop across her chest looking guarded.

"I know what you want, but I'm not gonna talk to you about it right now."

"Why not?"

She shook her head and sighed exhaustively.

"Don't worry about this, okay? It's something really, really stupid. Trust me."

"Hunters are calling for you. They want you to do something that you won't, and somehow that's stupid?"

"Leave it alone, Sam!" she said harshly. "Stop pushing me!"

He was taken aback by her tone and the way she stormed off into the house with her dufflebag and laptop, slamming the kitchen door behind her. He waited a moment before walking back into the house.

Dean was laughing as he saw the look on his brother's face.

"You're real smooth there, Sammy."

"Shut up, Dean."

"That's enough out of you two," Bobby said as he walked into the kitchen from the livingroom. "Just leave Jess alone for now. I'm sure she'll come around on her own. She doesn't need you two idgits pushing her into something she isn't ready for."

Sam looked at Bobby with a worried expression, but he did nothing to assuage it.

It was a few hours before Jessie came downstairs. She walked into the kitchen to grab herself a drink, finding Bobby and the Winchesters sitting at the table drinking. Their heads turned as she entered, but they quickly glanced away when she looked in their direction.

After grabbing a beer from the fridge, Jessie sat at the table beside Bobby, facing the Winchesters.

"Fine," she said with a sigh. "I'm ready to talk about this."

They all looked at her with surprise.

"Are you sure, Jess?" Bobby asked.

She shook her head. "It's silly for me to be—embarrassed about this anymore."

He beamed proudly.

"First, I'm gonna tell you about the case that Chet and Malcolm called about."

She waited until the brothers stopped with the questioning looks before going on.

"In the late 1940's there was this singing competition show. Back then it was more like a game show kinda thing. The week started off with ten women and by the end there would only be five. The five women would get to move on to the next week, where five new contestants were chosen."

"This is all very interesting, but when are you gonna get to the point?" Dean asked impatiently.

Bobby shot him a stern look, quieting him instantly.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before going on.

"The show wasn't like the ones you see now. The contestants were married women who stayed at the hotel where the show was filmed with their husbands. They got paid for each episode they managed to last through, but they had to stay in the hotel until they were kicked off the show."

She stopped to take a drink of her beer before going on again.

"The competition became very intense between both the women and their husbands and a few fights broke out, but that was nothing compared to what would happen. One night shortly after a particularly violent brawl, one of the women was found dead in her bed with her throat slit." She stopped quickly to take another drink before going on. "Three women were murdered before they caught up to the culprit trying to kill another woman. It was one of the husbands. There are different accounts about how he was killed, but the official cause was gunshot wound to the chest."

"So he was killed there?" Sam asked.

"Yes. And after he was killed, the show was cancelled by the network. The hotel went bankrupt soon after, there were several accounts of people seeing ghosts and it ruined the business. Over the years there have been several new owners, but none of them could keep the place going once the ghost rumors began to spread."

"I'm guessing that's changed recently?"

"Yup. Some television studio decided to purchase the building and revamp the old show. Only now, women are showing up murdered in their beds with their throats slit and no physical evidence, depite all the cameras around. Some people have said they've seen a ghost."

"How did they revamp the show?" Dean asked.

"Well, the only thing they've really changed is that now people can vote for their favorites, instead of judges making the choices."

"It's still married women with their husbands?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yeah," she replied nervously.

He glanced at his brother with a sarcastic smile. "I guess we know who's gonna be checking this case out."

Sam narrowed his eyes at his brother, but it was Jessie who interrupted.

"That's the problem though Dean, I can't do it."

"Do what?"

"Work on this case."

"Why?" he asked with shock. "Are you afraid you won't get on to the show?"

She laughed ironically. "No, that's not it at all."

"Are you fishing for a compliment or something? Because you do have a beautiful voice."

"Thanks, Dean," she said fixing her gaze on Bobby. "But that's not the problem."

"What is it?" Sam prodded gently.

She turned her gaze away from Bobby, staring at a space between Sam and Dean on the wall behind them.

"I told you, Sam, it's stupid."

"I'm sure it's not stupid, Jessie."

She snorted. "Fine—I have stage fright."

There was complete silence for a moment before Dean began to laugh.

"You? You have stage fright?"

"What's so funny about that, Dean?" she asked irritably.

"I've seen you sing in front of a crowd. How can you possibly have stage fright?"

She rolled her eyes. "Easy, Dean. I never get up to sing before I've had a few drinks."

"That's easy enough to deal with."

She shook her head. "No, Dean. I can't get up in front of that many people and that's that."

"How do you know if you haven't tried?"

"Dean!" Sam said harshly.

"No, Sam, it's okay," she replied with a sigh. "I'll be right back."

She stood up from the table leaving the kitchen. When she came back, she had her laptop tucked under her arm. She placed it on the table in front of the brothers and opened it up.

"What's this?" Dean asked.

"I tried out for American Idol during the first season. While I made it past the judges, when it came time for me to hit the stage in front of a crowd for the first time, well—I froze up."

"It couldn't be that bad," Dean said.

"Watch the clip I've loaded on Youtube, Dean," she said while pointing to her laptop. "Then you'll see why I couldn't possibly go through with that again."

The brothers were silent while they watched the video and for a few moments afterwards. Jessie was afraid Dean was going to laugh, but he didn't. He looked sympathetic.

"Okay, that is bad, Jessie. But that was before you were a hunter, right?" he asked. "You've gone through way more terrifying situations than that since then."

She wanted to be upset with him, but she knew he spoke the truth. She'd been through way worse situations since that show.

"Thanks, Dean," she said with a smile. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I can do it."

Sam and Bobby both gazed at him with surprise and relief.

She scooped her laptop from the table, stopping to smile thankfully at Dean.

"I'll be up in my room," she said, leaving the room quickly.

"I'm surprised at you, boy," Bobby said to Dean. "I thought you would've laughed at that clip."

"Come on, Bobby, there's nothing funny about freezing up like that."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"You mean you have no desire to laugh, or tease her about it?"

"None."

"Well if you do, keep it to yourself."

It was almost two hours later when Sam decided to go upstairs to check on Jessie, since no one had seen her since she'd gone upstairs earlier. He approached her room quietly, but not silently, he didn't want to startle her. The door to her room was partly open and from what he could tell, there was no activity in the room, none that he could hear. He stuck his head through the crack of the door to peek in, and saw her lying on her bed asleep on her stomach, her laptop open, sitting by her head. She'd obviously fallen asleep while she was busy with her laptop.

He walked up to the side of her bed and sat down softly, hoping not to disturb her. The movement jostled her around slightly, but she stayed asleep. It wasn't until he laid his hand on her back that she began to stir.

"What?" she said as she opened her eyes looking confused.

"I guess you were tired, huh?"

"Why? What time is it?" she asked as she rolled onto her side, supporting her head with her hand.

"It's after six."

Her eyes went wide. "Not in the morning I hope."

He chuckled. "No."

She turned over onto her back, stretched her limbs and yawned.

"I was doing some research on this case."

He laid down on his side next her, pulling her close and kissed her for a few moments.

"So you've decided to take it then?"

She sighed. "I don't want to, Sam, but what choice do I have?"

"We all have choices, Jessie."

"You're right. I can choose to do nothing and let innocent people die, or I can suck it up and do what needs to be done."

He was silent for a moment before he chuckled slightly.

"That sounds like something Bobby would say."

"Yeah," she replied. "Only he would never say that to me, at least, not about this."

He brushed a lock of hair from her face. "Whatever you decide, I'm here for you."

She smiled, reaching her hand out for his, squeezing it tightly. "Well you're gonna have to be. I do need a husband after all."

"I think I can manage that," he said with a smile.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly trying to figure out if she was teasing him or being serious.

She waited for his response, but when she noticed his hesitation she laughed.

"You do realize there's gonna be cameras everywhere?"

"Of course."

"And you do realize, once they figure out who I am, it's gonna bring a lot more attention, right?"

"I never thought about that."

"Well I did. That's what I was thinking about while I was up here—before I fell asleep."

"How're we gonna swing that?"

She smiled at him. "You don't think I've taken care of that already?"

He laughed. "I wouldn't doubt you."

"I only had to hack into a few government sites, create a fake ID for you with a different last name, and one for me with said last name, and a marriage certificate."

"Only?" he said with a laugh. "How long did that take you?"

"Ten minutes, maybe fifteen," she replied matter-of-factly. "The rest of the time I spent researching our ghost."

"What did you find out?"

"Well, he was cremated, so definitely no bones to burn."

"What about the widow?"

"She's eighty five and in a home. I doubt we'd get too far with her."

"Is there anything you don't know about this case?" he teased with a smile.

"Actually there is," she said with a smile.

"What's that?" he asked, knowing she was waiting for him to ask.

Her smile disappeared and she looked at him with a serious expression.

"I don't know what's keeping him at that hotel."

"We'll figure it out," he replied with a supportive smile.

"So you're serious about this, Sam? You think you can pretend to be my newlywed husband? While under intense scrutiny?"

He ran his fingertips lightly across her skin beginning from her shoulder all the way down her arm, resting his hand on her hip.

"I love you, Jessie. If that means pretending to love you so much I would marry you, than yes."

She did her best to keep a straight face, but she couldn't help but laugh.

"That's kinda cheesy, Sam," she teased.

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess it was."

She returned his smile brightly. "I love you, too, Sam. If I planned on ever getting married—"

His gripped her hip tightly, pulling her close and began to kiss her roughly, passionately, but only for a short time. Both pulled away from each other before they became too carried away, which they had only been moments from.

"Bobby will kill us if we do this here," she said still breathing heavily.

"You're right," he replied with disappointment. "It's a shame, but you're right."

Jessie and Sam went downstairs to join Bobby and Dean for dinner. They were both given suspicious looks for their extended visit upstairs, but neither said anything.

After dinner, Dean and Bobby were busy doing some research on a different case, and having a few drinks, while Sam and Jessie spent the time making their physical IDs. They stayed up late to make sure everything was set, packed up both the Impala and Jessie's Caprice, before they went to sleep. They planned on leaving first thing in the morning, it was a days drive to Los Angeles from Sioux City, on a good day.

By the time Jessie made it to bed, it was well after one in the morning. She was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. Too many things were running through her mind. She hadn't forgotten about Crowley, although at the moment he was on the backburner until they could figure out what he was up to. But she was also worried about Sam. She had teased Sam when they were speaking about marriage, but she had a feeling he was being slightly serious, she thought she could read something in his eyes. She didn't even want to think about that. Taking the step of dating him had been difficult enough for her, but taking the next step, she wasn't sure if she'd ever want that. And of course, most worrisome of all was the case. She thought Dean might have been pulling her leg, but he'd been right, she'd been through so much since American Idol, so why couldn't she do it? The thought of standing in front of cameras and a crowd of people wasn't as terrifying to her as it had been 11 years before, but things were different now. She was a completely different person. She wasn't sure if she could pull it off.

It was some time before she finally drifted off into an uneasy slumber, waking up just after dawn by loud voices in the hallway. She thought it was Sam and Dean arguing at first, then she realized they were only teasing each other. She would have told them to be quiet, but she knew it was time to get up, despite her exhaustion.

She dragged herself out of bed, took a quick shower, got dressed then packed up the remaining stuff she had at Bobby's. After some toast and coffee, she packed her stuff into her car then sat on the hood to wait for the brothers.

"Looks like you're eager to get out on the road," Dean said as he walked to his car, which was parked beside hers.

"Something like that."

"The princess should be out soon. He was messing with his hair when I saw him last."

She laughed. "You're just jealous of his soft, silky hair."

"Yeah, that's it," he said as he rolled his eyes.

Sam smiled as he walked outside, pleased to see his brother and Jessie were getting along so early in the morning. He imagined she must have had coffee, or she wouldn't have been smiling.

"You look tired," he said as he approached the car.

"Gee, thanks, Sam. You really know how to make a girl feel special."

"I mean it, Jessie. Maybe I should travel with you," he said with concern.

"I'm fine, I swear. If I get tired I'll let you know."

He wrapped his arms around her, gently pulling her from the hood of the car, kissing her lightly.

"Drive safe."

"Don't worry so much, Sam," she teased with a smile. "It promotes wrinkles."

"Ha, ha," he laughed mockingly.

"I think it's time to go—before I change my mind about all of this."

He smiled, pulled her close and kissed her one last time. "No, you won't."

After she snuck another goodbye kiss from him, she got into her car, beginning the long drive to Los Angeles.

They drove six hours before they stopped for a potty break and something to eat, then headed back out on the road for another six hours. If Jessie hadn't been so tired they would have kept travelling. Even if she'd insisted on it they would have stopped, Sam was worried about her.

They grabbed one room with two beds, but this time she slept in one of the beds and Sam took the couch. Dean had offered the other bed to him, but he thought it was his responsibility to take the couch.

They slept a little over six hours, waking in the middle of the morning. Sam and Dean were up for a short time before they woke up Jessie, despite Dean's insistence to wake her up earlier. Dean was in a hurry, as he always was when they're on a case, but Sam was worried about her. It gave them time to go out and get coffee beforehand, which was always best whenever possible.

Jessie seemed bright, alert and refreshed when she finally climbed out of bed. She drank her coffee with a smile and seemed to be in a good mood, but Sam was suspicious. To him, she seemed to be trying way too hard to be in a good mood. But he didn't want to upset her, so he kept his suspicions to himself, for the time being.

They stopped at a diner for breakfast before they headed back out on the road. Sam decided he wanted to ride along with Jessie to keep an eye on her. Of course he told her something completely different. He wasn't sure if she bought it, but she seemed to be in a good enough mood. He knew if she had suspected anything she wouldn't be so pleasant.

They had been driving down a long quiet road for almost an hour, Dean in the Impala behind them, when suddenly a car coming in the opposite direction veered into their lane. It took a quick sharp right turn of the steering wheel to avoid a head on collision. The car swerved onto the dirt and gravel shoulder so quickly, Jessie almost lost control, the car fishtailing, but she managed to keep control and get the car back onto the road.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, once the car was back on the road.

He picked up his phone to call his brother, when the car was rear ended by the same car that had tried to hit them head on.

"What the hell is going on!" Jessie yelled as she continued to swerve from side to side to avoid being run off the road.

"I don't know," he said while turning around in his seat. "But Dean's behind this car trying to run it off the road."

"Keep your seatbelt on," she said as she continued to weave on the road.

While she was trying to keep an eye on the car behind her, another car seemed to come out of nowhere, trying to run into her head on. She once again tried to swerve onto the shoulder, but the car behind her hit the back corner of her car at almost the exact time she was trying to swerve. The car hit the shoulder at the wrong angle, sending it out of control. Jessie managed to maintain some control over the car, but it slid off of the shoulder, rolled into the low ditch and hit a guardrail, finally bringing the car to a stop.

"Are you okay, Sam," she said as she turned to glance at him, trying to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"Yeah," he said turning towards her. "What about you?"

"I think so," she replied, finally unbuckling herself.

"Dean!"

Jessie reached out for the door handle when the glass on the door suddenly shattered. She shielded her face with her hands while moving away from the door. She kicked at the empty space where the window used to be, coming into contact with someone who let out a grunt.

Sam called her name as the glass shattered and he noticed someone standing there. He managed to open his door and climb out, pulling his gun from his pants.

"Demons!" he yelled before shooting at the one standing by the driver's side door.

Jessie pushed her legs against the closed door, gripping the seat and dashboard tightly so she could wiggle herself out of the passenger's side. Sam reached in when she was close, helping to pull her out. She had her gun in her hand before she even stood up.

They stood back to back, their guns aimed towards the demons. There were at least six that they could see, three were heading towards them from one side of the car and three on the other. They stopped before they got too close, not that it mattered, the demons had them surrounded.

"Where the hell is your brother?"

"I dunno."

As if almost on cue, they could suddenly hear the Impala racing towards them. Jessie felt more hopeful, until they saw another demon walking towards them from one of the cars that had driven them off the road.

"Meg!" Sam called in surprise, turning around.

"Hey, Sammy," she replied with a smirk. "Nice to see you again."

"Yeah, right," he said angrily, placing his free arm around Jessie protectively. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I'm not here for you. I'm here for her," she replied, glancing at Jessie.

Both of them spoke simultaneously.

"What do you want with me?"

"What do you want with her?"

Meg cackled with amusement. "Isn't that adorable?"

"Shut up, Meg!"

"I always enjoy trading barbs with you, Sam, but I don't have time for it at the moment."

"Do you think I give a damn?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You have two choices. You hand your girl over to me and she won't get hurt, or, you can fight all of us and we will still take her, but she might get hurt."

"You aren't gonna touch her!" he yelled furiously.

"That's where you're wrong."

The pair raised their guns as the demons began to advance on them. Shots rang out from each of their guns but there were too many of them for it to make a difference. When the demons were too close to shoot, they used their guns as short range weapon, smashing them in the face. They did what they could, punching and kicking, but there were too many to fight off.

"Don't hurt her," Meg said as she approached them.

She stopped in front of Jessie, who was being held by two demons.

"So much trouble for just one meat sack."

"You touch her Meg and I'll kill you!" he growled.

"You really should get some help for your anger issues, Sam," she taunted.

"Leave him alone," Jessie said with resignation. "If you let him go—without hurting him—I'll go with you."

"No!" he shrieked.

Meg smiled. "Deal."

The demons who were holding her, began to loosen their grip. She shot Sam a look she hoped he would understand, then stuck her leg out, pushed the one on her right, who fell over her outstretched leg, falling on the ground. She punched the other one in the face, then kicked it in the stomach. As it bent over from the stomach blow, she kneed it in the face, sending it to the ground.

Sam had been able to fight off the two demons who'd been holding him in the confusion. They were now lying on the ground. He turned to face the other two, when Dean came up behind them, stabbing one in the back with Ruby's knife, then the second in quick succession, both dying quickly.

"Dean!"

"Sorry I'm late for the party."

The demons on the ground began to scurry away, but once Dean noticed he chased after them. They managed to jump into the car that had run Jessie and Sam off the road and drive away, Meg in the driver's seat.

"What the hell was that all about?" Dean asked as he joined Sam and Jessie, who were standing by her car.

"It was Meg," Sam replied. "She wanted Jessie."

"What the hell for?" he asked, turning his gaze towards her.

She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you okay, Jess?" Sam asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"No, Sam, I'm not," she said with frustration. "Look what the hell they did to my car!"

He glanced at her in disbelief.

"Seriously? We were just ambushed by demons and you're worried about your car?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Look what they did to her! How can I not be upset about it?"

Dean shot her an understanding look.

"Sorry, Jessie. Sammy doesn't understand."

She shook her head in agreement, then walked over to the driver's side, grabbing her phone, which had fallen onto the floor. She made a quick call, pacing a few steps back and forth as she did so. When the call was complete, she stuffed it into her pocket.

Sam had walked up to her, waiting for her to finish the call. He placed his hands on her shoulders after she put her phone away.

"I'm sorry about your car, Jessie."

She sighed. "I know you are, Sam."

"But I'm also worried. About you."

"I don't know what they want with me, Sam. All I do know is, my car is in bad condition and that's something I can take care of. When you figure out what they want with me, let me know and maybe I'll worry about it."

He shook his head in disbelief then walked over to the Impala, which Dean had moved closer while Jessie had been on the phone.

"He's just scared, Jessie," Dean said. "We both are."

She looked at him with surprise and disbelief, struck speechless.

"Yeah, I'm worried about you, too," he said, his brow furrowing.

She sighed. "I just can't think about that right now, Dean. If I do—"

"What?"

She looked at him, trying to avoid eye contact. She didn't want to admit she was scared, not to herself and definitely not to him. If she did, then it would just make it seem more real. She had absolutely no clue what interest Crowley or Meg could possibly have in her. She had stayed away from demons, for the most part, while she'd been a hunter. And as far as she knew, there was nothing extraordinary about her. The only thing that had changed in her life was the company she kept. She didn't want to think about that, she couldn't. She loved Sam too much now to give him up, life or death. She'd spent the past nine years alive, but not really living. She knew what that was like. She'd rather spend only one more happy day with Sam, than a lifetime of being lonely and sad.

She opened her mouth in an attempt to answer Dean, but she was interrupted, thankfully, by the tow truck showing up.

A/N: So now Meg wants her too. Just what they need. Makes you wonder if Crowley is working with Meg, or she has her own agenda, doesn't it? Though one can never tell with demons.

Thanks for reading!